Democrats were upset Friday morning when Arizona’s Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced she’d left the party and registered as an independent.
Coming within days of the Georgia runoff, her move complicates the Democrats already razor-thin majority in the U.S. Senate. But many were also not surprised by her move.
The hints were there earlier this week when President Joe Biden came to Arizona to hail Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC. Absent from the major announcement was Arizona’s Sinema. Her absence was noted.
“She was the only member of the delegation not present so there was you know, a lot of clues,” said Arizona Chamber of Commerce CEO Danny Seiden.
Democratic Congressman Raúl Grijalva said he also wasn’t surprised. “Not overly no, I think it was a predictable move,” he said.
Sinema would have faced a tough primary if she ran for reelection in 2024 as a Democrat.
“Given the reaction of Democrats to the positions she’s been taking as senator and some of the things that she’s held up and demanded changes to that by far Democrats and most people supported,” Grijalva said.
Sinema will keep her four committee seats and told Politico she will not caucus for the Republican party. Sinema told KJZZ’s The Show that it was a natural path forward for her.
“When I ran for the Senate back in 2018, I promised Arizonans I’d be an independent voice for our state. That’s exactly what I’ve done. And so I think today’s decision and announcement is just a reflection of that,” she said.
Political strategist Chuck Coughlin says candidates in Arizona win with high percentages of their own party and then a plurality of unaffiliated voters.
“That rule’s out the window now. What percentage of Democrats is she going to get? What percentage of Republicans is she going to get, and what’s her feeling with unaffiliated voters? That becomes a calculus for anybody else running,” he said.
As an independent, Sinema won’t need a majority of support from either Republicans or Democrats to be viable.
“It’s just never been done, that’s what’s fascinating about it,” Coughlin said.
Even before Sinema changed her party status, many Democrats were unhappy with the senator’s performance. Like when she single-handedly thwarted the party’s longtime goal of raising taxes on wealthy investors, and voted against a $15 minimum wage in a coronavirus relief bill.
Robert Johnston is a Democrat from Gilbert. He voted for Sinema in 2018.
“I’d like to tell Kyrsten Sinema to do the honorable thing and resign. She’s turned her back on Arizona, turned her back on Arizonans, turned her back on the working people that voted her in and supported her,” he said.
As a former Republican, Johnston said he is open to any reasonable candidate for Senate in 2024 but that he would not vote again for Sinema.
In announcing her exit from the Democratic party, the senator said her commitment to Arizonans is unchanged. But some voters don’t see it that way. Rae Saunders is an independent from Tucson who voted for Sinema in 2018 as well.
“I will not vote for her again regardless of her political affiliation. I think that she was dishonest with the voters in Arizona, although if you check back in her history, that’s not surprising either.”
Saunders says she would vote for the Democrat-backed candidate in 2024, with Congressman Ruben Gallego as her first choice. Gallego has not announced, but politicos say he is the likely candidate.
One certainty that was established with Sinema’s announcement: the 2024 Senate race in Arizona is now underway.
